Here in Australia, we are in the middle of the worst drought for a very long time. Farmers are walking off their land, which has become unsustainable, and in the cities there are severe water restrictions. We cannot use any garden sprinklers, cannot wash the car or hose down our driveways. We can only use our garden hoses between the hours of dusk and darkness, and even then only with a proper spray attachment on the end of the hose.

On a global scale, the issues of global warming and climate change have become newsworthy, and other nations are facing the possibility of life without an unlimited supply of fresh water.

Because of this, many people are advocating waste water recycling, the use of the waste water discharge from household appliances such as toilets, washing machines and dishwashers. While it may seem a sensible thing to do on the face of it, further analysis should show up the folly of this method of water conservation.

Logic tells us that “what goes in must come out”, and grey water which comes directly from the waste pipes of the various outlets must contain bits of soap, shampoo, washing powder and every other kind of detergent. Every piece of your dirty underwear contains traces of feces and urine, which of course will be transferred from the underwear to the water in your washing machine. If you don’t use disposable diapers, the same logic will apply, but much more so, and the used water will be that much more contaminated.

If you feel that you must use this water because you hate to see it go down the drain, use it on your lawn, and not on edible vegetables or fruit. Even on lawns, the water should be spread over a wide area, but unfortunately the flexible pipes which are available for fitting to your washing machine drainpipe only have a small outlet, and will concentrate the used water over a narrow area, unless you take the time and trouble to stand there and move the end of the pipe around as the water comes out.

There are three main dangers in the use of wastewater for irrigation purposes, namely salt, sodium and microbes, with the biggest danger coming from the microbes. The salt and sodium will eventually turn your soil into a highly saline environment, and not many plants will grow in that, but that’s only a minor concern when compared with the very real danger of bugs and bacteria.

We have already seen that underwear and diapers contain lots of bugs and microbes, and once they are released into a garden situation they will thrive and reproduce rapidly. While you may think that this will not matter with a lawn, you have to think of your pets and children with bare feet walking over it, and picking up these bugs, eventually reintroducing them back into the house.

The only proper solution to the conservation of water is to put your wastewater down the drain where it belongs, and if your local authority does not have a recycling or desalination plant, to install a rainwater tank, which even in a drought should eventually fill up, unless you are living in a desert or outback environment.